10 replies to this topic

[technopredator]

I know this is probably not canon but I think it'd make fair and balanced needed change to MWO.


RT (Right Torso) & LT (Left Torso) are too critical for any 'mech to have such low armor, at best the front can have the same as the arms:

[-] They have on some 'mechs most if not all the weapons, like on the Banshee and Highlander.

[-] They harbor part of the XL engine, making the them a preferred target.

[-] When any of them get destroyed, the arm connected to it gets destroyed too.


So for these reasons taking them out is priority target for all enemies unless you're too far away and/or the target 'mech is moving too fast to aim at it with precision. So I propose:

[-] Increase the RT & LT armor by 22 points each on the Banshee as a base parameter; current values: e.g. RT=80 max armor=64 front+16 back, CT=120 max armor=102 front+18 back; the proposed value would be the halfway between RT & CT, new RT max armor = 100=82 front+18 back, for a uniform back of 18 on each: RT, CT & LT. This proportion would be applied to all 'mechs, with the condition to have always a flat 18 armor points on the back.

[-] Increase the RT & LT Internal Structure by 50% each.

[-] If a 'mech uses XL engine, the parts of the engine would increase the RT & LT Internal Structure by another 50% each.

[-] As an additional needed balance IMO, I think is fair, better protection for weapons, 'mech endurance and more offensive firepower, if we add the health of the weapon/item to the health of the Internal Structure they belong to, so only by destroying the total health, then that part of the 'mech would be destroyed, since is simply logical that the weapon, ammo, or anything else will be IN the Internal Structure, therefore protected by it, as a general rule, e.g. Medium laser health=10 attached to RT, RT health=50, new RT health=50+10=60; the more items attached, the stronger the part. This way battles can last longer, more fun shooting each other and more time for strategies and tactics on the fly, while in battle,


I think this way the 'mechs will be balanced against incoming fire and battles won't be based on centering your concentration on destroying the RT & LT of the enemy 'mechs but thinking how to outmaneuver the enemy for better fire position and cover, making MWO more fun and interesting.

Edited by technopredator, 17 May 2014 - 01:28 AM.

[Wintersdark]

Nah. XL engines would become mandatory in the same way DHS are now. As things stand, there are serious pros and cons to using them, and there's no "best" choice. Lets not mess that up. Instead, employ defensive piloting to protect your side torsos.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

I haven't voted yet.

What about separating front and rear torso sections?

So, instead of currently sharing as is the case, what if the sections had separate valuations? For example, Front Side Torsos could mount as much as legs, if potentially allowed, with Rear Sides being half that value or less of that value (would / could use a separate value from Max armor Overall also as another balancing factor)?

CTs would follow the same principle, with say a Hunchback having a total of 64, could then have that allowance for the front CT with an allowance of 32 for rear CT?

[wanderer]

technopredator, on 17 May 2014 - 12:03 AM, said:

I know this is probably not canon but I think it'd make fair and balanced needed change to MWO.

No, it'd be "XL engines aren't a problem to mount whatsoever".

Sorry, you deal with having armor that isn't the thickest possible everywhere you need it to be. If having your side torso blown out is a problem, learn to use standard engines and spread your weapons.

Edited by wanderer, 17 May 2014 - 09:50 PM.

[Modo44]

No to all of those. You can only safely take an XL engine on certain mechs in certain roles. Doing it on others is folly (hello, all the easy XL Atlas kills). For overall survivability, put more armor on the front, learn to use your mech's arms and terrain for defense, and try to stay at long range if your weapons allow it.

[WonderSparks]

I'd just like to point out that my frontal side torsos are not limited to the amount of armor as my arms, as I only put 8 on either side of the rear of ALL* my 'Mechs.
_{(*The exception being the Locust)}

[OznerpaG]

there has to be a price to use XLs, and higher vulnerability from less side torso armour is it. and this is coming from someone who ONLY uses XLs on every mech i own

[Wintersdark]

WonderSparks, on 17 May 2014 - 10:26 PM, said:

I'd just like to point out that my frontal side torsos are not limited to the amount of armor as my arms, as I only put 8 on either side of the rear of ALL* my 'Mechs.
_{(*The exception being the Locust)}

I do something similar. Rear armor can be very low, if you don't let people get behind you I use the same system for rear armor as I do for XL engines:

Watch how I die most often, and adjust to fix. So, if I'm only ever dying to CT punching, start using an XL. If I'm always dying to frontal attacks, move armor forwards, etc.

Over lots of drops, with careful attention paid, you gradually tweak each chassis to work just right for you.

My mediums, for example, have in some cases 1 rear side torso armor, because they're fast enough to ensure nobody is ever behind me - or at least not long enough to exploit it.

[Claviger]

Clearly the poll shows you are wrong.

That is all.


Serious response though:

If PGI hadn't allowed the weapons to do MASSIVELY more damage over time than was intended by TT concept you would not see this issue. If they want to increase the Time To Kill, reduction in accuracy via convergence timing and reduction in fire rate of all weapons by 50% is how it should be done.

Edited by Claviger, 20 May 2014 - 12:54 PM.

[Smith Gibson]

I want as close to cannon Battletech/Mechwarrior as can be done. Leave armor and internal structure alone at the x2 it currently is. Double ammunition compared to the original rules to make up for the doubled armor. Remove pinpoint convergence to better reflect the original games random hit location. Change LRM range to 630m. Apply the same reduction in damage as you approach x2 weapon range for all weapons no mater if they are balistic, energy, or missile. Change all weapon damage and heat to original game values, and only adjust rate of fire to bring balance for weapons since this is a FPS. Oh, and let double heatsinks be double heatsinks.

I'm too tired to complain about ECM right now...

[technopredator]

Thanks for the recommendations about how to play the game, but those are common sense tactics and not needed, as I know them.

I'd like this game to be as cannon as possible too, unless that has design flaws, for example I see the low armor and internal structure on the RT & LT a design flaw, if I'd be in charge of it, I'd would have done it as I suggest it. The poll doesn't mean I'm wrong, it means people want "easy Atlas kills" on all enemy 'mechs, and a lot of people are obnoxious enough to not see the game will improve, and due to the massive firepower you say PGI added it wouldn't do much good to prolong the life of the 'mech, it'd just bring balance to the rest of it, when you try to turn your torso in order to protect your RT & LT.

More back RT, CT & LT armor would be great I agree, without taking any from the front. Independent values I think not because you need to make a balance and adjust as somebody else pointed out.

XL would NOT become mandatory, because if the increase is implemented, this would be a first tendency, so the more reason everyone would go for the RT & LT, after a short while a new natural usage of XL would be reached. BTW if you use XL everywhere I think you're a fool asking to be killed fast, specially on an Atlas by extension Heavies and Assaults, those 'mechs are supposed to be tough, so they have to be stronger than their already highly-targeted RT & LT, because it's simply common sense don't jeopardize the 1 thing that could avoid you from being more effective and better help on battle and can kill you really fast, unless you're very fast yourself.

Edited by technopredator, 26 May 2014 - 01:58 AM.